The Family Baby
by Gazlover12-Canada
Summary: Based off of my story Worth It: Alfred spends some time bonding with his and Ivan's newest addition, baby Arthur. It's hard to believe that his old family neglected him, but at least now he's with the most loving parents on earth. Contains RusAme, toddler!Arthur, and tons of fluff!
1. Chapter 1

**Let me know if you want me to make this story a bunch of one-shots featuring little!Arthur please!**

"What sound does the piggy say Artie?" Alfred asked the toddler, who was sucking his thumb and watching his dad intently. He chose not to speak, waiting expectantly for Alfred to answer his own question.

"The piggy goes oink! Can you say oink? Come on Art, make a piggy noise."

Wait for it...

"Moo," Arthur answered, smiling when Alfred pretended to gasp loudly.

"Moo? The piggy says moo?" He asked, grabbing the two year old and tickling his sides, causing Arthur to shriek with laughter. His hair was damp from his earlier bath, and Alfred had dressed him in blue and green striped footie pajamas.

Arthur had only been with them for about two weeks, but it was if if they'd had him since he was born. Arthur showed no discomfort around them whatsoever, choosing to gobble up the attention that was now being to him. This life was a lot different than his old one, where he had to wait more than a day for a single diaper change.

"Bye bye!" Arthur waved. Alfred knew the routine, and put his hands over his eyes. He waited a few seconds before uncovering them and letting out a fake cry of shock.

"Oh no, where'd my baby Artie go!?" The American exclaimed, looking around the room. It was quite obvious that the tot had decided to hide in his pile of stuffed animals tonight, but he decided to humor him.

"Hmm...is Artie over here?" He asked aloud, pulling she sheets of the bed down. "Nope. I wonder...is he under the bed?"

Alfred ended up checking the closet, the toy box, and behind the curtains before finally walking towards the pile of stuffed animals in the bin at the foot of the bed. He slowly removed a few animals from the bottom, revealing a foot. Then he took the big stuffed money away, coming face to face with a certain two year old.

"Look what I found! A baby!" Alfred yelled excitedly, planting a big kiss on Arthur's little nose. Arthur shrieked and tried to escape, but to no avail. Alfred scooped his child up and tossed him in the air. Arthur flew up inches from the ceiling, screaming with laughter as he landed back into Alfred's strong hands.

Alfred, while still holding Arthur, plopped down onto the carpeted floor. He laid back and held Arthur above him, imitating loud airplane noises while spinning the still laughing toddler back and forth.

When he decided that Arthur would probably either pass out from lack of oxygen or pee himself, he stopped and cradled him into his arms. It was quite obvious that the little guy was tuckered out, as he was starting to rub at his eyes.

"You ready to go say night-night to father and big brother Francis?" He asked. Arthur nodded tiredly, and so Alfred carried him downstairs to the living room. Ivan was sitting on the couch with Francis in his lap, and the five year old was watching looney toons.

"Someone wants to say goodnight!" Alfred announced as the came down the stairs. Ivan smiled at the sight of their newest edition, and held out his arms.

"Come get your night-night Arthur." The Large Russian said, and so Alfred passed Arthur over to him. Ivan proceeded to shower Arthur's cheeks with kisses, and blow raspberries on his neck which had Arthur squealing once again.

"Alright, say goodnight to big brother," Ivan said, and Arthur leaned over to plant a kiss on Francis's cheek, and scowled and wiped the spit and drool off.

Francis was still a little jealous of his new brother. He was use to getting all of his parent's attention over the past year, but now he had to share his time with a loud, noisy, drooly two year old. It was getting a little better though, Alfred knew, because today he'd watched Francis help Arthur learn to color with crayons. The walls needed a lot of washing because of that..

"Alright, time to go nighty-night!" Alfred sang, snatching Arthur away from Ivan. "We're going to brush our teeth, and then have a story, and then Artie is going to have dreams about pirates and cookies. Is that right buddy?"

"Cookie!" Arthur demanded, and Ivan glared at Alfred for saying the 'c-word' before bed. Whenever Arthur heard anything about cookies, he wouldn't stop demanding for one. The kid had a serious sweet tooth.

"I'll tell you what. If you're a good boy and go night-night, then tomorrow you can have two cookies instead of one. How's that?" Alfred compromised.

"Yeah!"

After that, Alfred helped Arthur brush his teeth. He was actually learning to do it really well by himself, with the exception of getting toothpaste all over the counter. He brushed until the sand timer was done, and Alfred clapped, causing the child to beam.

"Which story do you want? Let me guess...Peter Pan?"

"Yeah! Peter Pan!" Arthur agreed. Alfred laid Arthur down in his little bed that was complete with guard rails and a comforter with truck designs on it. He tucked the blankets around Arthur, and also tucked Arthur's teddy bear in beside him.

"Okay, let's read some Peter Pan..."

It took less than ten minutes before Arthur was passed out. Alfred closed the story book and put it back, taking a moment to take in the sleeping sight of their new baby. He was so glad that they had gotten the privilege to be the ones who got to have Arthur. Kiku must have known that Arthur would fit in perfectly with their family. God he was an awesome social worker!

"Goodnight baby boy," He whispered, brushing back Arthur's soft locks and placing a kiss on his forehead. "I love you."

He was looking forward to raising Arthur. There would be many fun times ahead, he could already tell. This whole 'being a family' thing was amazing. Alfred thought that he and Ivan made a pretty good pair of parents. With Francis and Arthur, they were a perfect little family. Maybe one day they'd foster even another child.

But for now, they were pretty content with what they had.

**a/n: Gah, I can't help but write about little Arthur! He's just so insanely adorable, and my brain automatically comes up with every cute thing to write about that features him. And gosh, parental Alfred and Ivan is the best! I hope you guys enjoyed this. I remember my dad often doing the whole hide and seek, air plane, and throwing up in the air thing with me when I was little too.**

**Drop a review of something, and maybe let me know if you'd be interested in having this story be a bunch of one-shots with little Artie!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A HUGE thank you to all who reviewed last chapter: Vampchick2010, 91RedRoses, BritishTraveller, BlackCat019, Sora Resi, aquabless, yunike08, and pingo1387!**

**Ear Infection:**

Both Alfred and Ivan were startled in the middle of the night by screaming. They knew it was Arthur form the sound of it, which alarmed them big time. Arthur had just gotten over fighting a cold, so they'd been more cautious with him recently. Both parents ran as fast as they could down the hall, so fast that Ivan hit his shin on their door frame.

When they arrived in the toddler's room, they flicked on the light on looked for anything out of the ordinary in the room, such as a robber, or in Alfred's case a ghost. Instead they saw the two year old sitting up in bed, face streaked with tears. He was clutching at his ear and whimpering loudly. Obviously Alfred panicked even more if possible, running over and scooping the child into his arms.

"What's the matter buddy? Tell daddy what's wrong.." He urged.

"It hurts!" Arthur wailed, pulling at his ear even tighter.

"What hurts? Your ear?" Ivan asked. He'd read in a parenting magazine (yes, he was an avid reader of parenting magazines) that ear infections were common for toddlers. Francis had never gotten one before thankfully, but then again, it meant they didn't know how to deal with them.

"My ear!" Arthur agreed. "Ow ow OW!"

"Shhh, it's okay buddy," Alfred soothed him, but then mouthed to Ivan, "Call Dr. Elizaveta!"

Ten minutes later, Ivan had written down a set of instructions on how to sooth Arthur's pain until the morning, which was when they would be taking him to the doctors. Dr. Elizaveta had said that it was certainly an ear ache, and had listed off things to help.

First they gave Arthur motrin. It was a little hard to get him to swallow it, but eventually Alfred had coaxed him. Next they applied a warm moist washcloth over his ear, but kept him sitting upright to keep him elevated, which the pediatrician had said to do until he fell asleep.

"Why don't we keep him in our room tonight?" Ivan suggested. It was obvious that neither parent wanted to leave Arthur all alone when it was obvious he was suffering. The tot himself had laid his head down on Alfred's shoulder, eyes half closed as he sucked his thumb. Alfred absentmindedly ran his hand through his baby's hair.

"Yeah," The American agreed, standing up and trying not to jostle Arthur too much as he did so. Together, they headed down the hall and back into the master bedroom.

"I want the ouchies to go," Arthur mumbled, half asleep.

"They'll be gone soon buddy, I promise." Alfred whispered as he laid the toddler in between him and Ivan.

"Tomorrow morning you're going to see Dr. Elizaveta, and she'll make it all better." Ivan promised as well, kissing Arthur on the nose. "Go night-night, okay?"

They managed to get through the rest of the night without much trouble, but Arthur awoke again at six and started crying. So much for getting to sleep in Saturday morning. But thankfully the doctor's office opened at eight, so only two more hours to endure. They gave Arthur some more motrin, and then Alfred cuddled with him on the couch.

Francis woke up around seven, and when he found out Arthur was 'sick with an ouchie' he gave him a kiss on the head! Maybe there was hope for those two yet. Ivan cooked up some homemade waffles with their new waffle maker.

"Come on Artie, eat up. You like waffles!" Alfred encouraged, seeing that Arthur wasn't touching his food. When the toddler didn't say anything, the American grinned. "Alright, you leave me no choice kiddo."

Alfred picked up Arthur's fork, stabbed it into a waffle, and held it high into the air. "Here comes the train! Chugga-chugga choo-choo!"

Just like magic, Arthur's eyes became transfixed on the fork and his mouth hung open, allowing Alfred to feed him the piece of waffle. He managed to give the tot six more bites before Arthur didn't want anymore.

"It's a ouch..." Arthur informed them after a few minutes of watching more cartoons in the living room. He was tugging at his ear again, which meant obviously the pain was getting bad again.

"Don't worry Artie, daddy's going to take you to the doctors right after we get you dressed, and then the ouch will go bye-bye." Alfred promised him.

"No," Arthur disagreed. "I no get dressed. No-no."

"Well, I guess we can make an exception," Alfred agreed with a chuckle. After all, it was just a doctors appointment. Usually they let the kids go in their jammies anyway. "Okay, we can go make it all better now."

"Good luck Arthur! Francis and I are going to go to the store and buy you a little treat while you're at the doctors. Isn't that right Francis?" Ivan said, holding the five year old in one of his arms.

"Oui!" Francis agreed. "Feel all better Arthur! Maybe Dr. Elizaveta will let you have a lollipop or sticker."

That statement seemed to have Arthur brighten a bit, allowed Alfred to get him into his car seat without much trouble. During the fifteen minute ride to the doctor's, Alfred played sing along Disney songs for Arthur, which lulled him to sleep around five minutes in.

When they got there, Alfred unbuckled the sleeping two year old and carried him into the waiting room. Since it was a Saturday the place was pretty crowded, with tons of coughing and sniffling children. The chaos woke Arthur up, but instead of going to look at the fish tank like usual, the groggy toddler chose to stay on his daddy's lap, holding his ear and absentmindedly sucking his thumb.

'Gosh, I hope nothing spreads to Artie. He just got over a cold last week', Alfred thought to himself, scooting down a few seats from a boy who had snot running from his nose a mile a minute.

Finally, twenty minutes later, they finally called Arthur's name. "Dr. Elizaveta will be with you in a minute." The nurse told them, leaving Alfred and Arthur in an empty examination room. When the doctor finally did arrive, her hair was frazzled and she looked a little stressed. Just like always though, the pediatrician brightened at the sight of the two members from her favorite family.

"Hello Alfred, hi Arthur sweetie. Let's take a look at that ear, shall we?" She greeted them.

"Busy morning?" Alfred asked knowingly.

"Oh Alfred you don't know that half of it. Saturday mornings are always the busiest. So far in the past hour I've diagnosed four colds, a strep throat, and pink eye." She answered while reaching in the drawer for her otoscope.

"Well now your day is brightened since you get to see my face." Alfred winked.

"No, I think my day is more brightened since I get to see my favorite boy," The doctor answered running her hand through Arthur's hair. "Now, it's going to feel a little funny having me look in your ears with my tool, but it lets me know where the infection is so we know what we're dealing with. The good part is that you can stay right here on daddy's lap while I do it."

Surprisingly Arthur stayed calm. It barely took Elizaveta any time at all. As soon as she looked into the hurting ear, she winced.

"Ouch, I can certainly see why it's been hurting. You've definitely got an ear infection sweetie. But luckily I have some antibiotics to make it go away."

She prescribed some antibiotic ear drops to stop the pain and fight the infection, telling them to give Arthur three drops two times a day, starting with when they got home. She also warned Alfred that lots of small children resented ear drops, and gave him some instructions on how to administrate them to him. Likely they'd need one parent to hold him, and the other to put the drops in.

Soon they got back home, where Ivan and Francis were waiting.

"Look what we got you Arthur," Ivan said, holding out a toy Thomas the Tank Engine to his youngest child.

"I picked it out!" Francis added.

"Thomas the t'wain!" Arthur hollered excitedly, reaching up to grab the toy from his father's hand.

"What do you say Art?" Alfred prompted.

"Thank you for my Thomas," Arthur said, hugging the toy to his chest. "He's my favorite'd toy."

Alfred couldn't help but get lost in thought with a huge smile plastered onto his face. He was so lucky. He had an amazing husband, and two of the best children in the world. Being a parent was something so extraordinary and rewarding that there was no possible way to even put it into words. Of course there were challenges, but they always managed to surpass them.

In the beginning, when they'd first gotten Francis, he'd had many doubts the first few weeks. Francis had been so emotionally upset and distraught. What child wouldn't be, after being abandoned by his or her parents? There had been countless nights of full blown tantrums that lasted for hours. Half the time the the child had been speaking French, so they didn't even know what was being said fully. Alfred remembered some nights, after finally getting Francis to sleep, he had broke into tears himself. He'd wanted to much to take all the hurting away, but was unable too.

Now, a year later, Francis was as close to them as any child would be to their parents. They _were_ Francis's parents, and now Arthur's too. Thankfully the toddler didn't have many tantrums, mostly because he wasn't used to getting so much love, and he was basking in it. It made Alfred furious to think of Arthur's old family. How could people just neglect a baby so precious as Arthur? He was the picture perfect child, with forest green eyes and soft blonde hair, and most of the time was either smiling or scowling adorably.

"Should we give Arthur his medicine now?" Ivan whispered into Alfred's ear, startling him from his thoughts.

"Oh, er, yeah. I don't think he's gonna like it much..." Alfred agreed apprehensively. "Elizaveta said one of us should hold him, and probably talk and try to distract him. You wanna do that?"

"Alright, I can do that," Ivan agreed. "Arthur, ready to make the ouchies go away?"

"I wan' ouchies to go bye-bye." The tot agreed, halting from his activity of rolling the train around on the floor.

"Alright then, up we go," Ivan said, picking Arthur up off the floor. He walked over to the couch and said down, holding Arthur on his lap. "Now Arthur, it is going to feel a bit funny having the drops in your ear, but they will make it go bye bye."

"I don't want 'em in my ear!" Arthur replied, eyes wide.

"It'll be over really quick buddy, and you'll barely even feel it. Ivan, tilt his head back and let me see his ear..."

It was disastrous. Arthur did not like ear drops. Not at all.

"NOOOO!"

"Arthur, hold still! I haven't even put one in yet!"

"Be still for daddy Arthur."

"No no no NO NOOOOO!"

For someone so young and tiny, the tot could certainly hold his own, even against someone as strong as Ivan. It was proving to be very difficult for the Russian to get a good hold on him. They'd never dealt with giving a child ear drops before. Alfred wished Elizaveta had given him some more tips. Ten minutes had passed and his eardrums were about to start rupturing from Arthur's high pitched 'no's'. The worst part of all was that he hadn't even managed to get one single drop in yet.

"You can have a cookie afterwords if you let me do this. No, two cookies!" Alfred was desperate enough to even bribe, even though both he and Ivan disapproved of that parenting style.

Finally they'd managed to hold him still, with Ivan holding him down and Arthur kicking and screaming. Alfred pulled Arthur's earlobe back gently and put in the first drop.

Boy did Arthur shriek. Hopefully the neighbors weren't home. If not then they might think they were attempting to torture/murder the kid or something. Even Francis, who had watched for the first few minutes, had left to go upstairs to his room because of the noise.

"Just two more Artie. You're being such a brave boy," Alfred praised him anxiously, feeling like a criminal for making their baby cry. "Then you can have _three_ cookies."

Eventually the other two drops were administrated, and as soon as he was done Alfred pulled Arthur into his arms, crushing him to his chest. "Oh Artie I'm so sorry I had to do that! Daddy and Father had to though, it was the only way to make the ouchie go away! Please don't be mad buddy, we love you so much!" He rambled, begging for forgiveness. Apparently Arthur wasn't the type to hold grudges, for he smiled at his daddy.

"Cookies?" He asked.

Arthur ended up eating five cookies that morning, all at once. For a good part of the day he had a major sugar rush and ran all about the house, taking a few tumbles because of his poor coordination. Eventually he had a sugar crash. Alfred and Ivan decided never to give him that much sugar at once again. Anyway, for now everything was calm.

Until tonight that is...when they would have to do the whole ear drop process over again.

fin.

a/n: I remember how much I hated ear drops when I was little. Anyways, hope 'ya liked it! Now I need to get some sleep, as it is one o'clock in the morning. Thanks again to all those who reviewed last chapter. Hope you liked this one!


	3. Chapter 3

**A GIGANTIC thank you to the following people who reviewed last chapter: Corbenick, yunike08, BlackCat019, Sukuangtou, Sora Resi, AnimeRomantic4Ever, pingo1387, Vampchick2010, 91RedRoses, Witchwannabe and Beckett Simpleton.**

**Thank you guys, I love you! Now onto the chapter...**

"Splish splash, Artie's taking a bath..." Alfred sang as he removed Arthur's shirt, blowing a raspberry on the two year old's tummy. "Long about a Saturday night! Rub-a-dub just relaxing in the tub, thinking everything was alright!"

As he sang that last verse, he picked up the giggling toddler and deposited him into the tub, which was full of warm water and lots of bubbles. The bubbles practically buried Arthur completely, so Alfred had to push some aside to make sure his baby hadn't drowned or anything.

"I wan' my t'ain!" Arthur requested.

"Your train? Okay buddy, you got it." Alfred replied, reaching into the pocket of Arthur's pants and pulling out his Thomas the Tank engine toy, handing it to the awaiting child. "Do you want Mr. Octopus and Miss Ducky to join too?"

"Yeah!" Arthur agreed enthusiastically. Alfred dug into the bin of bath toys and pulled out the two items. Mr. Octopus was a purple colored squishy toy octopus, named by Arthur himself. Mrs. Ducky was a rubber duck wearing a pirate hat. Alfred thought the duck looked like a boy, but Arthur called it Miss Ducky, and what Arthur says goes.

"Okay, what are Thomas, Mr. Octopus, and Miss Ducky going to do?" Alfred asked curiously. Arthur's bath playtime was always rather fun to watch.

"Go up!" Arthur told him.

"Up? Up where?"

"The moon!" Arthur yelled, splashing about in the tub with his toys. Some of the water sloshed over the side, spilling onto Alfred's socks.

"The moon? That's awesome dude! Are they gonna meet aliens?"

"No," Arthur said, more focused with patting the bubbles.

"Oh...well, ready to wash your hair?"

"No."

"Okie dokie," Alfred said, and despite Arthur's answer he still reached over for the bottle of L'Oreal kids shampoo, tear free of course. It was strawberry-smoothie scented, which made Arthur smell good enough to eat

"Close your eyes Art," Alfred warned, using a hand to shield Arthur's eyes anyway, as he used the rinse cup to thoroughly wet Arthur's hair. Once he'd accomplished that, he poured a quarter size of the shampoo onto Arthur's hair and scrubbed at it.

"Mo'awk!" Arthur demanded.

"You got it bud," Alfred agreed, using the soap to shape Arthur's hair into a perfect mohawk. It looked really adorable to say the least. Mohawk hair had become a bath time tradition. The first time Alfred had done it, he'd made Ivan come in and take a picture, which was now on their fridge.

"Okay, rinse time. Close your eyes." Alfred instructed. When Arthur did so, he carefully rinsed all the traces of soap away. After that he grabbed the strawberry kids body wash and squeezed a generous amount onto the 'puffy' otherwise known as luffa.

"I can do it!" Arthur protested. Alfred nodded and handed the puffy to Arthur, who instantly began scrubbing himself. Of course Alfred had to do his back, but otherwise the toddler had it quite under control.

He let Arthur have about fifteen more minutes of playing in the tub before the water was starting to get cold.

"Ready to get out?" Alfred asked.

"Yeah...an' I get a cookie." Arthur reminded him.

"Nope, you already had your cookie, remember?" Alfred reminded him. "No sweets right before bed. You can have a cookie tomorrow."

"I wan' a cookie," Arthur pouted as he was lifted out of the tub and swaddled into a fluffy white towel. Alfred pulled the drain on the tub before picking his baby boy up. He carried him down the hall and into Arthur's bedroom.

"One...two...three!" Alfred sang, tossing the two year old onto his little bed. "Now you stay there while I get your jammies ready."

He dug through Arthur's jammy drawer, looking for a suitable pair. It was a bit cold tonight, so he decided that fleece would be good...and definitely footie pajama styled. Finally he settled on a red pair of jammies with a blue star pattern. He'd seen them at the store last week and just had to get them...

"Okay Artie-boy, ready to get into your..."

He didn't finish his sentence however, for a small giggling form streaked passed him, leaving a towel behind.

"Crap," Arthur muttered. "Artie wait, we don't run around nakey, we wear clothes! Come back!"

And so the cycle of chasing a naked toddler around the house was repeated, just like every other time Arthur got a bath.

**a/n: Bath time with baby Artie is always fun...Do any of you guys remember running around naked after a bath? I do...lol! I'd also just chill in my underwear around the house during the day until I was like, seven. It's kind of embarrassing to think of now. Kids will be kids though, right?**


	4. Chapter 4

**A LARGE, LOVABLE thank you to the following people for reviewing chapter 3: ilovezim123, AnimeRomantic4Ever, SillyKwado, Lissia, yunike08, 91RedRoses, ViolleetteRain, and Witchwannabe! Here you guys go, *Virtual hug***

"One...two...three!" Alfred shouted, throwing a certain squealing two year old high up into the air. The toddler came falling back down, only to be caught in the American's strong arms.

"Please do not drop him. We do not need two people in the house with brain damage." Ivan warned with a sigh, shaking his head at his husband's antics.

"Sure thing babe...wait, was that an insult?!" Alfred asked.

"You decide," Ivan told him, grinning.

The family of four were currently in the backyard, deciding to enjoy the summer by trying out the new pool that they'd gotten. It had been on clearance, and since they had some extra money Alfred had convinced Ivan that they needed a swimming pool. It wasn't a huge thing, but it was definitely good sized. The pool was round and blow-up. Totally full, the water probably reached Ivan's waist.

Each of them were dressed in their swimsuits. Francis wore his favorite purple colored swim trunks. Arthur was wearing his new swim trunks, which were patterned with the Union Jack flag. He looked very cute, especially after Alfred put arm floaties on him, and a cute little green and blue life jacket.

Francis new how to swim pretty good for a five year old, but of course Alfred, being the protective parent he was, made him wear arm floaties too.

"Can we get in now?" Francis asked eagerly. After all, it was quite hot outside and the cool water looked very refreshing.

"Not yet. First we need to put on sunblock." Ivan instructed. He lathered their oldest child's face, arms, and legs with sunblock. Alfred did the same to Arthur, who struggled through the process of getting his face smeared with the oily substance. After the adults covered themselves in sunblock too, it was time to swim.

This would be Arthur's first time swimming, so it would be exciting. Francis was quick to climb the ladder and jump in. Ivan went in next, sighing at how refreshing the water felt.

"Ready to get in the pool Artie?" Alfred asked, walking over towards the ladder with Arthur in his arms. The two year old didn't respond, staring at the water with wide eyes. Alfred climbed into the pool, keeping Arthur above the water at first. Then, he dipped Arthur's feet into the water.

The toddler shrieked unexpectedly, clinging to Alfred like a lifeline.

"What's wrong Art? Don't you like the water? It's fun." Alfred said, but of course quickly lifted his baby out of the water.

"No! No, no, no!" Arthur kept shrieking, wrapping his little arms around Alfred's neck as tightly as he could.

"Is it too cold Arthur?" Ivan asked, wondering what was the cause of the toddler's distress. Or maybe he was hydrophobic? He did fine in the bathtub though...

"Père, throw me into the water! Please?" Francis begged Alfred.

"Sure bud," Alfred agreed. "Ivan, can you hold Artie?"

Ivan immediately gathered Arthur into his arms, who looked slightly more relieved since Ivan was taller than Alfred, which kept him up even further from the water. Meanwhile, Alfred had picked Francis up and tossed him to the other side of the pool as if he weighed nothing, which was pretty much true. The five year old laughed as he landed with a big splash.

Unfortunately the water from the splash flew everywhere. That also included spraying Ivan and Arthur with water. The latter gave an ear piercing shriek, instantly bursting into tears.

"Aww, c'mere baby boy," Alfred cooed, taking Arthur back from Ivan's arms. "I'm sorry. Come on, let's go inside and get a Popsicle."

With that, he carried the whimpering toddler out of the pool, grabbing one of the folded towels that was on the lawn chair and wrapping Arthur up in it. They left Ivan and Francis to chill in the pool, heading back inside to the kitchen.

"Is the water scary buddy?" Alfred asked, setting Arthur down on the counter while he dug in the freezer for the popsicle box.

"I no' like it." Arthur agreed, jamming his thumb into his mouth.

"That's okay Artie-Fartie," Alfred said, poking Arthur's side. "What color Popsicle do you want?"

"B'oo" Arthur said, thumb still in mouth. Alfred took the plastic off of a blue Popsicle and handed it to the awaiting toddler. Arthur took his thumb from his mouth and instead crammed the Popsicle in to take it's place. Alfred grabbed a cherry red Popsicle for himself, and together they ate them.

"How about we go out in the driveway and you can ride your tricycle?" Alfred suggested once they were finished.

"Yeah," Arthur agreed, face covered with the remains of the Popsicle. Alfred wet a paper towel and proceeded to clean his face up. While he was doing that, Arthur suddenly reached out and pressed a small hand against Alfred's cheek.

"Daddy wuv's me?" He asked softly.

Alfred drew his arm back, eyes wide with shock. "Of course I love you! Daddy always loves you Artie. So does Father and big brother Francis. Always." He replied firmly, pulling the toddler to his chest.

"I wuv my daddy," Arthur said, resting his head against Alfred's chest. "An' my father, an' my big brother Francis. Always."

Always...

**a/n: Awww, was that sweet or what? Wow, I'm doing a pretty good job updating this regularly. I'm also working on a Worth It story showing what life is like with the kids in their teens.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry I haven't updated in a few days! Lot's of school work, haha! Anywah, there's a lot of Ivan in this chapter. Oh, and thank you so much for all of your amazing reviews! I'm so happy that you guys enjoy this! Btw, I'm in the process of making a tumbler Worth It page. The links on my profile. Anyway, enjoy!**

"I do so like green eggs and ham! Thank you! Thank you, Sam-I-am," Ivan finished the story. He closed the book and looked down at the toddler next to him, who had his eyes half closed and was sucking on his thumb. "What about you Arthur? Do you like green eggs and ham?"

"Mmm mmm," Arthur shook his head no.

"Why not?" Ivan asked curiously. Arthur's answers were always amusing to hear. The tot had a really interesting thought process. The toddler popped his thumb out of his mouth.

"I no' like g'een." Arthur answered, forgetting to pronounce the 'r' in green.

"How come? I think green is a very pretty color. You're eyes are green." Ivan said, tapping Arthur on the nose.

"I no like _g'een food_," Arthur emphasized. He then promptly stuck his thumb back into his mouth, letting Ivan know that he had made his point.

"But you like your broccoli don't you? And your peas?" Ivan persisted. Once again Arthur removed his thumb from his mouth.

"I wuv my pea's an' my b'occoli!" He concluded.

"Ah, I see," Ivan said, a smile forming on to his face. He always enjoyed his bonding time with Arthur. Ivan and Alfred made sure to spend at least an hour a day bonding one on one with their children. Usually Alfred would do activities like finger painting, crafts, or rough housing. Today he was taking Francis to buy some new clothes. Whenever the Russian himself bonded with his children, usually he would read.

Ivan viewed reading to your your children as a very important thing. All of the parenting books that he'd read agreed with his opinion as well. Alfred wasn't too much into books, but he did enjoy reading picture books to the kids. Not only did reading increase their intelligence, but it also increased the bond between parent and child.

Without warning, Arthur suddenly leaned up and gave 'love' to his father by pressing his lips to his cheek. It was cute, since Arthur was into the stage of giving everyone he liked kisses.

"I wuv my fa'ter," Arthur told him.

"Aw, I love you too little one," Ivan cooed, kissing Arthur on his head. His watch then started beeping. "Oh, looks like it's time for your nap."

"No nap," Arthur pouted.

"Would you like to nap down here on the couch with me?" Ivan offered.

"...Yeah," Arthur agreed.

"Alright then, let's have a nap," Ivan said, leaning back into a recumbent position on the couch, pulling Arthur to his chest. A patch of sunlight shown through the window, making it all the move peaceful.

Ivan absentmindedly ran his fingers repeatedly through Arthur's blonde locks. Eventually he heard the toddler's breathing slow, telling him that Arthur was asleep. Slowly Ivan's eyes closed as well, and he found himself falling asleep.

...An hour later, they were both awoke by the front door slamming open, causing Ivan to immediately sit up in shock.

"We're back!" Alfred called as he and Francis entered, each carrying shopping bags. "Where's my lover and my baby?"

Ivan rolled his eyes but took Arthur off his lap and set him on the ground. The two year instantly toddled over to his daddy, who picked him up and planted a big wet kiss on his cheek.

"How's my little Artie doing, huh?" Alfred asked, nuzzling his face into Arthur's fruity smelling hair.

"I no eated g'een eggs an' ham!" Arthur told him.

"No green eggs and ham huh? I totally agree buddy, that sounds like yuck. It also sounds like someone's been reading Dr. Suis to you." Alfred said, grinning at Ivan. "Dr. Suis is okay, but the Berenstain Bears books are much better in my opinion."

"Says the man who cried when reading The Velveteen Rabbit to Francis one time," Ivan retorted, smirking when Alfred glared.

"Dude that story was really emotional!" Alfred defended himself. "Now I was thinking that we should all go out to eat for dinner tonight...at Friendly's of course."

"Sounds like a good idea." Ivan agreed, and then turned his attention back to Francis, who was showing him the things he'd gotten.

"Awesome! It gives me the perfect excuse to change Arthur into the new shirt I bought him today. It's the cutest thing...There's an American flag intermingling with a united Kingdom one on the front!" Alfred said, racing up the stairs with Arthur.

Ivan smiled. He had the best family in the world. A humorous (sexy) American husband, a light hearted and talented French child, and an adorable British toddler. A family couldn't get much better than that.

**One of Arthur's cookies to all who review/reviewed**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! So I'd like to give an awesome shout out to Beckett Simpleton, who made some WORTH IT FANART pertaining to my story Officially a Preschooler! I put the link to it on my profile, so check it out okay? **

**Also, thank you to everyone who reviewed! Sorry I haven't been able to respond to them, life has been VERY busy! Anyway, hope you like it!**

"Okay Francis, what's five plus two?" Ivan asked their eldest child, who was sitting across the kitchen table from him with an irritated expression.

"I don't know! Why do I have to learn this?" Francis asked, pouting and kicking the legs of his chair.

"You do know it. And you need learn this because education is very important. You must take your studies seriously," Ivan advised. "Now think the problem over and answer it."

"Give the kid a break Ivan," Alfred, who was currently unloading the dishwasher, spoke. "You've been asking him them for fifteen minutes straight, and it's not even a school night! Man I'd go crazy."

"Alfred, we must teach the children to thrive on their inner intelligence." Ivan said. "Just think, with enough education, Francis could become a scientist, an astronaut, a surgeon! Anything he wants to be!"

"Babe, he's only in Kindergarten. We can start thinking about that other stuff a long, LONG time from now." Alfred said, shuddering at the thought of his kid getting that old. "Now let's all have a cookie break."

"Cookie! My cookie!" A certain two year old screamed, running into the room right on que. Alfred was beginning to think that Arthur had selective hearing. Call him for a cookie, he'd be there in less than a second. Call him for a nap, and it'd take some manhandling.

Due to his rather unsteady coordination, Arthur tripped over his feet and would have fallen flat on his face if Alfred hadn't have scooped him up before he could take the tumble.

"You want a cookie huh? Well you're gonna have to earn it." Alfred said.

"I wuv my daddy," Arthur responded, kissing the American on the chin. "Cookie p'ease?"

"Awww, for being so cute you can have two cookies. Now go sit and I'll bring the cookies over." Alfred said, setting Arthur back on the floor. The tot instantly went over to Ivan and held up his arms. Ivan picked him up and set their youngest on his lap.

Meanwhile, Alfred grabbed a package of Oreos, some cups, and a carton of milk before making his way over to the table.

"Calm down little one," Ivan hushed Arthur, who was eagerly trying to snatch the cookie box. Suddenly the Russian man's eyes lit up with a new idea. "Francis, you have five cookies and you take away two. How many are left?"

"That doesn't make it better," Francis said, not at all impressed.

"Alright guys, let's just enjoy our cookies," Alfred interrupted, taking Arthur from Ivan and giving two oreos to him. Arthur instantly crammed one into his mouth. "Wait buddy, you were supposed to dip it into my glass of milk!"

Arthur took the drool covered mushy cookie from his mouth and dropped the whole thing into Alfred's glass. The American attempted to take the Oreo back out, but the milk has caused it to get very soggy and break into many pieces.

"Cookie!" Arthur called out sadly, green eyes beginning to well with tears. "Cookie w-went bye-bye..."

"Aww, you got another one, see?" Alfred said, indicating to the cookie in Arthur's other hand.

Once cookie time was over, the family of four went into the living room. Francis used the coffee table to color, Alfred sat on the couch and attempted to fold the children's laundry, and Ivan had given up on studying with Francis, which left Arthur to be his new victim.

"Come on Arthur, you know the alphabet! Can't you sing it with me?" Ivan begged. "A, B, C, D...what comes after D Arthur?"

"Weesh," Arthur replied, not paying any attention to his father. Instead he was watching Curious George on the Tv, absentmindedly sucking his thumb as he watched the screen intently.

"What?" Ivan asked, eyebrows furrowed together. "Arthur please answer?"

There was no reply, except for Arthur attempting to imitate a monkey noise.

"You're never going to get him to answer you like that." Alfred told him as he finished folding a pair of mismatched socks.

"As if you can do any better?" Ivan scoffed.

"Watch this," Alfred instructed with a wink. Then, much to the Russian's surprise, Alfred began to fake cry. "M-my Artie isn't singing the ABC's with me! Wahhhh!"

The reaction was immediate. Arthur's head whipped around and he looked panicked, quickly getting off the floor and toddling over to his 'crying' parent. "Daddy no sad. A, B, C, D, E, G, B!"

"Good boy!" Alfred shouted, instantly brightening as he hugged Arthur tightly. "Okay, go watch Curious George for a few minutes before bath time."

"No," Arthur replied, but did as he was told.

"Wow...how do you always get him to listen to you?" Ivan asked, bewildered.

"I'm just that good," Alfred replied. "At everything."

"Oh yes, I'm sure." Ivan said, rolling his eyes. Nonetheless, the kissed his husband on the cheek.

"Papa, I drew you a picture!" Francis suddenly spoke up, eagerly thrusting a piece of paper into Ivan's hands. It was a beautiful sunflower field. Ivan smiled widely, pulling the five year old into his lap and kissing his head.

"Francis this is wonderful! You're such a good artist! I bet you'll be famous just like Leonardo da Vinci! This is going right on the fridge so I can see it everyday." Ivan praised.

Francis's beaming face made both parent's hearts melt. "Merci Papa. Now I'll draw you a picture Pere! What do you want? Maybe a space alien?"

"That sounds awesome bud!" Alfred agreed. "I can't wait to see it."

A moment later Arthur decided that Ivan's lap would be a much better viewing spot for the TV, and made himself comfortable there. Alfred whipped out his iphone and took a picture, sending it to Matthew right away.

It was moments like this that made being a family wonderful. Just something as simple as relaxing in the living room on a Saturday evening.

Things were wonderful.

**Hope you liked it!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Thanks so much to all those who reviewed last chapter, you guys are awesome! I hope you like this chapter, I was done with it last night but since it was three in the morning (I'm on April vacation so I've been staying up late) I was too tired to post it. But here we are, so have fun reading it. I'm going to go take my morning run :)**

Alfred was rudely awoken Monday morning by a finger poking his eye, not gently at all. The American yelped and clasped a hand over his now watering eye, opening his other one to see who had assaulted him. He was greeted by a smiling two year old.

"Artie? What are you doing out of bed bro?" He asked through a yawn. "And how did you get out of your room?"

They'd put up numerous safety gates in the house, mostly for night time. Because he'd been neglected, Arthur didn't have good coordination, even for a two year old. As suggested by Kiku, there was now a safety gate in front of the stairs, and in Arthur's doorway. This was to prevent any injuries. If Arthur were to awaken in the middle of the night and wander around then he could hurt himself.

"Up," Arthur answered, still smiling.

"I know you're up buddy. But why? It's way too early.." Alfred said, groaning when he saw that the clock read 5:02am. Beside him Ivan was still sleeping soundly, unaffected by their morning visitor. That was probably because his eye hadn't come close to being gouged out.

"Pop-'art." Arthur requested.

"Pop-tart? Look pal, I'm sure you can wait an hour or so until breakfast. Let daddy sleep for a little while, and then you can have a pop-tart." Alfred said, closing his eyes. He'd barely gotten any sleep last night, due to staying up late to watch an old James Bond movie that was playing.

"Pop-'art!" Arthur requested again, poking Alfred one again, but luckily in the cheek instead of the eye.

"In a little while Art," Alfred moaned, on the verge of sleep once again.

"Pop-'art," The toddler muttered heartbrokenly.

"Oh Artie," Alfred sighed, lazily reaching over to wrap an arm around his baby and pull the tot in between him and Ivan. "Have some sleepy time and then we can both have pop tarts."

For a moment Alfred's plan worked, for Arthur stayed still. It didn't stay that way for long though, for Arthur soon decided that if his daddy wouldn't get him a poptart then his father would. Arthur sat up and hoisted himself onto the sleeping Russian's belly.

"POP-'ART!" Arthur screamed. Ivan's eyes flew open and he yelped.

"What...Arthur? What are you doing up?" The Russian asked, groggy and bewildered.

"He wants a pop-tart babe," Alfred murmured from the other side of the bed, eyes still closed.

"Ah, I see." Ivan replied with a sleepy nod. "Arthur, go to sleep. You can have a pop-tart at breakfast. Right now it's too early."

Unfortunately for them, Arthur's lower lip stuck out and his eyes welled with tears. "Pop-tart p'ease?"

Ivan happened to be a sucker for tears, especially his children's or husband's. "Alright Arthur, let me get my slippers on...you did say please after all."

It was a bit ironic that the one weekday Ivan had off, he was up earlier than ever. Maybe he'd be able to take a nap later. Anyways, Ivan picked up Arthur and carried him downstairs, leaving Alfred to go back to sleep peacefully.

"Alright, let's sit you down," Ivan said, buckling Arthur into his booster seat at the table. "What would you like to drink, milk or apple juice?"

"Apple! Apple, apple, apple!" Arthur sang.

"Coming right up," Ivan said with a yawn, first turning on the coffee pot before getting the requested beverage. He gave Arthur his drink, and the two year old slurped his juice contentedly. Next he went to the cabinet, taking out the box of chocolate flavored pop-tarts. It wasn't the healthiest breakfast, but the kids were entitled to a treat every now and then.

"There you go, little one. What do you say?" Ivan asked as he put two pop tarts in front of the excited child.

"T'ank you fa'fer." Arthur said, taking the biggest bite that he could fit into his mouth.

"Smaller bites Arthur," Ivan advised, before going back to the counter to prepare his coffee. Two creams and one sugar, just the way he liked it. In his opinion Alfred had way too much sugar in his own coffee, sometimes several large scoops.

For his own breakfast, Ivan decided upon a lightly buttered sesame seed bagel and two fresh strawberries.

"So, what made you want to be such an early bird this morning?" Ivan asked Arthur once he'd joined his son at the table. Arthur only stared back, munching on his chocolatey breakfast.

"Is your pop-tart good?" Ivan wondered.

Still not talking, Arthur only thrust one of his half eaten drool covered pop-tarts in front of Ivan's face, indicating for him to try some. Ivan took a small nibble before handing it back to him.

"Very yummy," He praised. "Would you like a bite of my strawberry?"

"No," Arthur answered.

"But they're good for you!" Ivan encouraged, feeling that it would be better if he could get the toddler to at least have something healthy with his breakfast. It was the most important meal of the day after all.

"Nanna," Arthur said.

"A banana? Okay, that's fine too." Ivan agreed. He ended up chopping a banana into small pieces and putting them into a bowl for Arthur, adding a bit of peanut butter as well.

"This is nice, you know?" Ivan chatted to Arthur, who didn't seem too interested as he licked peanut butter from his thumb. "Just the two of us spending time together before sunup. Well, the sun is beginning to rise now, but still. Don't you agree?"

"Pa, pa, ba, ba, ma, ma, my nanna" Arthur sang, smashing his hand into the bowl and smushing the banana up.

"That is a very pleasant toon," Ivan noted. "Are you going to be a singer someday?"

Arthur licked the mashed up banana from his fingers, and then wiped his hand on his shirt to get the rest off.

"Wiping your hands on your shirt is not good table manners." Ivan reprimanded.

"Heheee," Arthur giggled, causing Ivan to automatically smile as well.

"You're just too cute for your own good, aren't you?"

They ended up finishing breakfast exactly when the clock turned 5:30. Ivan took care of the dishes, and then the two of them went into the living room. Ivan turned on the television, putting it onto the cartoon channel.

Ivan laid on the couch, with Arthur on top of him sucking his thumb as he watched the tv. After a moment he yawned.

"Sleepy..." Arthur told him.

"Then go night-night little one," Ivan suggested, feeling the same as Arthur.

An hour later, Alfred came downstairs to an adorable sight of his husband and baby sleeping on the couch together. He smiled, leaving the room to go make his coffee.

Today was going to be a good day.


	8. Chapter 8

Review Reply Time!

**Sora Resi: **_To be honest, I think I gave myself cavities too...XD_

**SunshineProject:** _Hehehe I know! Baby Arthur for the win!:)_

**Beckett Simpleton:**_ Lol I was eating smore flavored poptarts as I was typing the last chapter...those thing are so addicting! You did more fanart? OMG YAY! *happy dance* Hope 'ya like this chapter too!_

**AnimeRomantic4Ever: **_I solemnly swear that I will keep giving you cute Arthur until my arms get chopped off or something...even then I'd still find a way to type it! :D_

**91RedRoses:** _Hehe omg I knowwww, Arthur's too cute for his own good! I really dunno how he manages it, but I want to know his secret! lol!_

**Cherokee Bonnefoy-Jones: **_Woo, I totally agree! And because you pointed that out, I deliberately made there a lot of Francis and Arthur bonding!_

**Nancy:** _I used to come into my parents room and just stand there like a creeper, too scared to wake them up XD I hope you like this chapter, I tried to make it really cute!_

**Vampchick2010: **_I am so majorly haoppy that you enjoy these one-shot things! Writing little Artie is probably one of my favorite things to write! Hope this chappie is enjoyable too!_

**BlackCat019:** _*Squeals* I knowww, isn't it the sweetest! I already have another Ivan and Arthur bonding idea in my head as I speak...mowahaha!_

_**Onto the chapter!**_

It was one of those rough mornings.

Every family had them, but that didn't make it any better. It had started at breakfast, which was oatmeal sprinkled with cinnamon. Ivan had left for work a few minutes ago, kissing Alfred on the cheek and promising that they would get Matthew to watch the kids later tonight so that they could see a movie together.

Since Alfred had the day off, it would be just him and the kids today, which really wasn't something that bothered him. After buckling Arthur into his booster seat, he placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of each of the kids, before getting himself some and sitting down too.

"I don't like oatmeal. It's yucky!" Francis complained, not touching his food.

"You've had oatmeal before Francis, you do like it. Besides, we're out of cereal. Tomorrow's shopping day." Alfred said after taking a bite of his own breakfast. He also took a sip of his coffee, hoping that it would wake him up a bit.

"Yuck yuck yuck!" Arthur sang, but obviously he liked it since he'd just taken a big mouthful, the substance dribbling from his mouth and staining his shirt.

"Swallow Art," Alfred reminded the two year old.

"I want toast," Francis persisted, still not touching his food.

"A, B, D, 3, C!" Arthur sang, waving his spoon in the air. A glob of oatmeal sailed through the air, landing in Alfred's coffee cup.

Five minutes later, Alfred had ended up making Francis new toast and himself another cup of coffee. Arthur had proceeded to get more of his oatmeal on his face and the table rather than in his stomach. Alfred couldn't help but smile though, taking out his iphone to snap a pic.

"You all done little dude?" He asked.

"All done," Arthur agreed. Alfred took Arthur's oatmeal drenched shirt off before proceeding to use a napkin and clean off what he could from the toddler's hands and face. Then he let Arthur down from his seat.

"Francis, why aren't you eating your toast?" Alfred asked when he noticed that the five year old hadn't touched it yet.

"I don't feel like eating it," The child responded, pouting. "I want a croissant."

"You just said you wanted toast," Alfred reminded him patiently. "So you're going to have to eat at least one piece if you want to be excused from the table."

"I don't want it!" Francis repeated a little louder.

"Half of it Francis," Alfred told him, turning his voice a little stern. "If you ask for something then you eat it."

In the end, Francis only ended up eating half of one piece. Alfred knew that he wouldn't win, and he really wasn't in the mood for a tantrum. He knew that Ivan would disapprove. What was it that the Russian always stressed? Oh yeah, '_Never give into something to avoid a tantrum. That leads to spoiling.'_

Now the kids were in the living room, doing a puzzle together on the floor. After finishing doing the dishes, Alfred came out and sat on the couch with his laptop, trying to update some of his student's grades for work.

"Père, Arthur keeps chewing on the puzzle pieces!" Francis complained. Alfred looked up and sure enough, Arthur had at least five of the puzzle pieces halfway in his mouth. Thank goodness they were too large to fit all the way in.

"Artie, that's a no! We don't chew on puzzles." Alfred scolded mildly. Arthur took them out of his mouth and offered them to Francis, who scrunched up his nose.

"I don't want to play with him." Francis said. "He ruins it!"

"Why don't you show him how to do it the correct way?" Alfred suggested. "He's still learning. Remember that he's only a baby Francis."

It was mellow for a few minutes as Francis tried to show Arthur how to fit the pieces of the children's puzzle together. However, that didn't last for long. Once again Arthur stuffed another puzzle piece in his mouth.

"He's doing it again!" Francis yelled, snatching away the piece and giving his little brother a shove away from the puzzle. Arthur shrieked and slapped Francis' arm.

"Hey, we _do not_ hit or push!" Alfred scolded, setting his laptop aside. "If you don't play nicely then you'll get a timeout."

Francis, not wanting a timeout, went back to the puzzle. Apparently Arthur decided that he didn't want to listen today. He picked up a handful of the puzzle pieces and hurled them at Francis's face. Luckily little colorful cardboard pieces weren't sharp like knives or anything, but they still hurt.

"OW!" Francis cried out, holding his eye, where one piece had hit. Unfortunately that was the last straw for Alfred.

"Okay Art, time out," he said, calmly picking up the two year old and walking towards the kitchen. The toddler burst into tears wailing at the top of his lungs and trying to escape his dad's firm grip.

"No ti'out, no, ti'out! Daddy no!"

"If you didn't want a timeout then you shouldn't have hurt your brother, dude." Alfred said, trying not to feel bad, but not succeeding. "You have to sit in the time out chair for two minutes. When it's been two minutes you can play again, but you have to be nice."

The 'time out chair' was a little wooden chair painted with bunnies on it. It was put against the wall in the kitchen corner. Dr. Elizaveta recommended that timeouts should not succeed past the minutes of a child's age. Therefore since Arthur was two, he got two minutes. It was rare that Arthur acted out, but just like with all children, he had his tough days.

Alfred left Arthur, who was still screaming, in the chair. He then went out to check Francis' eye. It was watering a bit, but there was no major damage. Francis looked quite smug that Arthur was getting punished, but Alfred warned him that if he didn't behave he'd be in the chair next.

One minute into his timeout, Arthur ended up off his chair and on the floor screaming and kicking, with fist pounding included. His face was red and streaked with tears, and his voice almost sounded hoarse from his wailing.

"Oh Artie," Alfred sighed. It was no use interfering, for that would only make things worse. Instead he went back to the living room. Francis had completed the puzzle (except it was missing the pieces that Arthur had chewed) and had wandered off to the playroom.

Eventually, several minutes later, the screaming had stopped. An occasional sniffle or hiccup came from the kitchen, but that was all. Alfred was about to go get Arthur since it was way past two minutes, but the tot beat him too it.

"I done?" He sadly, looking so innocent and sweet that Alfred felt his heart melt.

"Yeah, you're done," Alfred agreed. "Come here buddy."

Arthur toddled over and Alfred lifted him onto his lap. For a moment he sat there on the couch just holding his baby, pressing his nose into Arthur's hair. The kid had worn himself out from his tantrum, so he only laid there with his head rested against his daddy's shoulder, sucking his thumb.

"Are you ready to go say sorry to Francis?" Alfred asked a few minutes later, before Arthur could fall asleep. He decided that maybe an earlier nap would be on order this morning, once the apology was finished.

"Yeah," Arthur agreed tiredly. Alfred set him down on the floor, taking his hand and leading him towards the playroom. Francis was laying on the carpeted floor, playing with his toy farm animals.

"Francis bud, Artie has something to tell you," Alfred said, giving Arthur a tiny nudge forward. The two year old walked across the room and then kneeled down beside his older brother.

"I'm sowwy," He apologized, puckering his lips and giving Francis a kiss on the head. "Is the ouchie gone?"

"Oui, it doesn't hurt anymore." Francis said, considerably cheerful. He held out a plastic horse to Arthur. "Want to play farm animals with me?"

Arthur accepted the horse from Francis and laid down on the floor next to him. They began making up some crazy farm jungle game. Alfred watched from the doorway with a smile on his face as he watched the two siblings play together.

Arthur's early nap time could be put on hold...

**Tell me what 'ya think! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**OMG so many people reviewed the last chapter! I'M ALMOST TO 100 REVIEWS! Sorry that I couldn't respond to the reviews in this chapterl (I've been so busy lately!) but I promise to do review responses in the next chapter! Enjoy!**

"Daddy!"

"Yes Artie?"

"I gott'ed you som'ing"

The two year old promptly thrust a tiny white pebble into Alfred's hand. The American's face lit up, and he put on an expression of pure joy and excitement.

"For me? Thank you buddy, you're the best!" He praised, putting the pebble next to him, into a pile filled with numerous other kinds of rocks. Arthur smiled and toddled back over towards the river's edge, searching for more rocks.

Today the family of four was spending the afternoon down at Mellow's Creek, which was a small river only a few blocks from the house. Since it was a quiet Sunday and the sun was shining, Alfred had convinced Ivan that they should pack a lunch and spend the afternoon/evening there.

Francis had his pants rolled up past his knees and tried catching some of the small fish in the river. Alfred sat next to Ivan on the grass, his head rested on his husband's shoulder while Ivan had an arm casually wrapped around his waist. Nearby, Arthur kept finding rocks to bring over to Alfred. It was a good day.

"Not too deep Francis!" Ivan called out as the little boy wandered out further. The current was a bit strong in the middle, and he didn't want the child to be swept away.

"He'we daddy," Arthur said, passing Alfred yet another rock. This time it was a spotted gray stone about half the size of the American's palm.

"That one's pretty! Good job buddy." Alfred thanked, adding the rock to the pile. "Why don't you have a break and finish your peanut butter and fluff sandwich?"

"Okay!" Arthur agreed, plopping himself down on Alfred's lap. Ivan, who the picnic basket was closest to, reached in and grabbed Arthur's half eaten sandwich. "Would you like some blueberries too Arthur?"

"Yeah!"

A few minutes later, Arthur was covered with the sticky fluff and peanut butter, and his hands were stained with blueberry juice. Francis had decided to come over and eat blueberries as well. It sure was a good thing that they'd brought two bins instead of one.

"It's a baby!" Arthur suddenly yelled out happily, showing an extra small blueberry to his parents.

"Wow you found a baby, just like you!" Alfred pointed out.

"Dis is my baby," Arthur said, cradling the little blueberry in his hand before popping it into his mouth. "Yummy baby!"

"I know another yummy baby too," Alfred said, kissing Arthur's pudgy cheek. "Mmm, he tastes just like peanut butter and fluff!"

Arthur wrinkled his nose and wiped the kiss from his face, stuffing another blueberry into his mouth afterwards.

"We should be heading back soon," Ivan pointed out, noticing how the sun was beginning to sink.

"True, Francis has school tomorrow," Alfred agreed. "Alright kiddos, you ready to go home?"

On the short ride back, both children ended up falling asleep in the car. It was adorable the way Francis had at first struggled to keep his eyes open, but ended up losing the battle. Like most children, the two of them always fell asleep in the car.

"Arthur's going to have to be broken from his habit eventually," Ivan suddenly pointed out, glancing in the rearview mirror at the toddler, who was sucking his thumb in his sleep.

"Aw he's just a baby Ivie, don't spoil everything." Alfred whined, turning around to smile at their youngest.

When they arrived home, the couple gently woke up their children. Francis, as usual, was a bit grouchy whenever someone roused him from his "beauty sleep". As for Arthur, it normally took the little one a while to wake up, which normally meant he was mellow.

"Let's get you a bath Artie-Fartie, and then we can go night-night." Alfred said, scooping the toddler up in his arms. He pressed his nose to Arthur's tempe, kissing him on the cheek. The two year old only yawned and rested his head against his daddy's shoulder.

They didn't need to worry about dinner, since they'd had such a late (and large) lunch. While Alfred bathed Arthur in the tub, Ivan supervised Francis while he took a shower. Francis had insisted that he was big enough to not take baths. The five year old did pretty well, but Ivan still had to make sure that he got all the shampoo out of his hair on occasion, and make sure that he didn't slip or hurt himself.

"S'eep with you!" Arthur demanded once he was done with his bath, clad in a pull up and t-shirt. Arthur was doing remarkably well with using the potty during the day, but he still hadn't conquered nights yet.

"Sure bad," Alfred agreed. He was going to retire early anyway. It had been a long day after all.

"I want to sleep with you too!" Francis, who was combing his damp hair, said.

"Alright then, it sounds like a slumber party!" Alfred agreed enthusiastically.

A few minutes later, the family of four were all laying side by side in the king sized bed. Arthur and Francis were in between their parents, cuddled up together. The children had each fallen back asleep right away. Francis's cheek rested against the top of Arthur's head, and he had an arm wrapped around his brother.

"They're so amazing Ivan," Alfred whispered in the darkness. "I never thought that being parents could be so...so...god I don't even know how to describe it!"

"I know how you feel, Sunflower." Ivan replied. "I wouldn't give them up for anything. I'd sacrifice my life for them...I'd do anything. When they cry, I feel like crying. When they laugh, I feel like laughing."

"Okay babe, don't get all sentimental on me!" Alfred said with a chuckle, wiping a few tears that had formed in his eyes. He leaned over the sleeping children to give his husband a kiss.

Being parents...

It was the best thing in the world.

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! School's been quite busy, and so has my social life. Hopefully this will satisfy your craving for little Arthur for the time being. It won't take as long for the next chapter, I promise! Oh, and the next chapter will be a lot longer too!  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter. I love you guys!**

The weather was perfect outside. The sun shone high in the beautiful blue sky, and the wind blew a breeze that was the perfect temperature. To Alfred, that meant it was time for some lawn work. While he used the weedwacker around the house, Ivan went to work weeding the sunflower patch and trimming the rose bushes.

Francis and Arthur played outside while their parents worked. Francis drew on the paved driveway with his newly acquired colored chalk (A gift from Uncle Mattie and Uncle Gilbert). He crouched down in concentration, tongue sticking out from the corner of his mouth as he worked on a beautiful drawing. There was no doubt that Francis was a very gifted artist, especially for his young age.

Arthur sort of did his own thing. He would go and scribble on the driveway for a few minutes, and then wander off and find something else that entertained him. Currently the toddler had found a stick, and was running about the backyard hitting trees with it, as if he were sword fighting.

As Alfred worked, he kept an eye on the kids (particularly Arthur since Ivan was in the front yard watching Francis) and laughed at their playing. When he made it to the corner of the house, he peeked around the corner to watch his husband weed the flowers. The sun was beating down on the Russian's back, causing him to sweat and make his shirt cling to his skin. He looked plain sexy to say the least.

Suddenly, Alfred's not so subtle gawking at his lover was interrupted by a piercing scream, which was so loud that he could hear it clearly even over the weedwacker. The scary part was was who the scream had come from, which was a certain two year old.

Alfred immediately turned off his weedwacker and raced across the yard as fast as he could to see why his baby was in distress. Ivan, who had heard Arthur as well, followed closely behind him. As soon as they reached their destination Alfred's mouth dropped open in alarm and he cursed.

It seemed that Arthur had disturbed a fire ant nest. The nasty little things were covering him on his legs, arms, and probably under his shirt. The poor kid was screaming, trying to escape the horrible things but failing.

Alfred acted straight away. He quickly picked Arthur up and carried him away from the nest. Together, he and Ivan quickly brushed the ants off of him, also removing his clothes and shaking them out. Arthur, who was wailing and obviously in pain, was covered in bites from the ants. One ant crawled onto Alfred's hand and bit him. The bite strung like hell, and he could only imagine how bad Arthur was hurting.

"Shhh, it's okay buddy, I've got 'ya." Alfred tried to reassure Arthur, but failed as he carried him inside.

"I'm calling the doctor. Put ice on his bites for now." Ivan instructed as he pulled out his cell phone, calling Dr. Elizaveta straight away. Alfred sat Arthur down on the counter, quickly digging through the freezer to pull out as many ice packs as they had, wrapping them in washcloths before applying them to as many of Arthur's bites as he could.

Meanwhile, Ivan explained the situation to the Pediatrician, listening carefully to her instructions. She said to keep applying ice to the bites, 10 minutes off and 10 minutes on in a cycle. Then once Arthur calmed down a bit they should apply anti-itch cream. She also said that a small amount of children's ibuprofen wouldn't hurt either. Lastly, she advised them not to let Arthur scratch when the bites turned itchy, or else they could become infected.

Arthur looked miserable, sitting on the counter in his underwear, covered with little red bumps. He sniffled and hiccuped, only half listening to Alfred, who was cooing and talking reassuringly to him. Ivan also joined to help, explaining to Alfred what they needed to do.

Francis had come inside to see what all the fuss had been about. He then attempted to comfort Arthur too, telling him about the story of when a bee had stung him. As the minutes passed, the toddler finally began to calm down. Ivan retrieved the first aid kit, digging around for the cream. Alfred had given Arthur and Francis both a popsicle, which definitely made Arthur feel better.

For once Arthur actually didn't refuse to take any medicine. He had stopped crying and only whimpered on occasion, refusing to stop clinging to Alfred.

"I think I'll take him upstairs for a nap," Alfred said, carefully lifting the exhausted toddler into his arms.

"I'm going to the store immediately to get some insect poison." Ivan said. "Francis, would you like to come to the store with me?"

"Oui Papa," Francis answered. "We have to get rid of naughty ants!"

"That we do," Ivan agreed. He kissed Arthur on the head and Alfred on the cheek, and then he took Francis's hand and together they went out to the car. Alfred carried Arthur upstairs. He changed him into just a shirt, leaving his poor bite covered legs to air out while the ointment did it's work.

"C'mon baby boy, let's have some sleepy time." Alfred whispered, kissing Arthur's temple as they laid down on the king sized bed in the master bedroom.

"It's an ouch..." Arthur told him sadly, big green eyes still watering.

"I know bud. It'll be all better soon, I promise." Alfred reassured him. He pulled out his ipod and put on some Disney music, which always did the trick to lull Artie to sleep.

When nap time was over, Alfred brought Arthur downstairs and set him up at the table with some crayons and his new Pirate coloring book. Ivan and Francis had already made it back. Francis insisted on being able to help Alfred make lunch while Ivan took care of the ant's nest outside.

In the middle of lunch, Matthew sent him a text inviting them to come visit tomorrow.

"How would you guys like to visit Uncle Mattie and Uncle Gilbert tomorrow?" Arthur asked.

"Oui! I want to go!" Francis answered instantly.

"I wan' my Uncle Mattie," Arthur agreed through a bite of his diced up hot dog.

"It's settled then!" Alfred agreed. Just then, Ivan arrived back inside, heading to the sink to wash his hands.

"How'd it go hun?" The American asked. "Did you get rid of those fucking baby biters? Er, I mean stupid baby biters?"

"Yes, they will not be bothering anyone anytime soon." Ivan replied, sending Alfred a dark glare for swearing in front of the children.

"Haha, that's good!' Alfred laughed, relieved. He saw Arthur reached to scratch at his legs and quickly stopped him. "Hey, no scratching mister!"

"Yes sc'atching mis'er." Arthur replied, trying to wiggle his arm from Alfred's hold.

"I said no scratching mister!" Alfred repeated, playfully poking at the toddler's tummy. "Oh hey Ivan, we're going to visit Uncle Mattie tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Ivan agreed.

Matthew and Gilbert had three of their own foster children. Ludwig, Feliciano, and Natalia. Ludwig was six years old, but acted far older than he actually was. All the way from Germany, Ludwig was polite, well mannered, and preferred clean things.

Feliciano was from Italy, approximately five years old. He was a bundle of energy, but never failed to put a smile on everyone's face. Natalia, from Belarus, was three. She was their newest foster child.

Natalia had a strange infatuation with Ivan. Maybe it was because they both knew Russian. Whatever the reason, it was sort of sweet. The visit tomorrow would be interesting.

**a/n: You guys are fine with me putting in a chapter with Uncle Mattie, Uncle Gilbert, and cousins Ludwig, Feliciano, and Natalia right?**

**Btw, special thanks to Vampchick2010, SunshineProject, 91RedRoses, BlackCat019, Nancy, Beckett Simpleton, and AnimeRomantic4ever for reviewing! Did I mention that I love you guys? Seriously!**

**Also Beckett Simpleton just did some fantastic fanart of baby Artie. The link to it is on my profile, kay? Thanks so much Beckett Simpleton!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Eh, sorry if this chapter sucks. I got a little stuck, and I've been distracted. Our family dog escaped from her run and ran into the road. She got hit right in the head and died instantly, so it's been very sad. I promise the next chapter will be better.**

"Mattie, my bro, wassup?" Alfred greeted his brother with a one armed hug, since he was holding Arthur with his other. Matthew Williams-Beilschmidt, Alfred's twin brother, smiled upon seeing them. Clinging to his pant leg was Natalia, their newest edition. She was only a year older than Arthur. Apparently her parents were both serial killers. They'd somehow managed to take their daughter on the run with them for the first three years of her life before they'd been caught. So now the little Belarusian girl was with Gilbert and Matthew.

"Alfred, Ivan, come on in!" Matthew greeted.

"Unc'a Mattie!" Arthur squealed, holding out his arms eagerly. Alfred passed the squirming toddler over to Matthew, who took Arthur and planted kisses all over his cheeks.

"Uncle Mathieu!" Francis screamed excitedly. He instantly clung onto Matthew and started babbling to him in French. Matthew smiled, answering back in the same language. When they'd first gotten Francis, it had been a big challenge since the poor kid didn't know a word of English. It made communication rather hard at first. Thankfully they had Matthew though, who spoke fluent French and helped Francis learn and communicate. That left a special bond between them.

"Uncle Ivan! My Ivan!" Natalia was next, clinging herself very tightly to Ivan's leg. Ivan smiled, gently picking her up and smoothing back her long hair, which was decorated with a bow. Ivan always wondered what it would be like to have a daughter. At first he'd feel envy, but then realize that nothing was better than his little boys.

"Ve, Uncle Alfred and Uncle Ivan are here! Yay! Come on Luddie!" A little boy shouted happily from the kitchen doorway, dragging a boy who was taller and slightly older than him into the kitchen as well.

"Hey Feli, hey Lud!" Alfred greeted, lifting each of them up into the air at the same time, kissing their faces. Feliciano giggled and Ludwig turned red.

"Hey guys, I see you came to visit the awesome me!" Gilbert said as he walked through the doorway. Francis ran to give his other uncle a hug too. Uncle Gilbert was considered the 'fun and wild' uncle. He worked as a mechanic, and made a good amount of money doing so.

Gilbert ruffled Francis' hair, and then walked over to fist bump Alfred and give Ivan a rather hard clap on the back. Then, the albino man reached out and snagged Arthur from Matthew's hands, raising the toddler up into the air.

"He's still awfully tiny for a two year old," Gilbert observed, bouncing Arthur in the air. "You're not starving the kid, right?"

"Of course not!" Alfred practically shouted, "Art's always been tiny. He even eats a lot!"

"Relax Al, you know I'm joking." Gilbert laughed, passing Arthur back to Matthew.

"I'm making subs for lunch," Matthew told them. "Gil's making some wurst to go on the side. It'll be ready in a few minutes."

The family promptly settled down. Francis, Feliciano, and Ludwig played outside, with Arthur attempting to follow them. Ivan and Alfred sat outside on the patio chairs while Gilbert grilled wurst. Matthew had finished the sandwiches and was setting them up on the patio table.

Natalia sat on Ivan's lap, refusing to get off. Ivan didn't mind though, she was very adorable. While Alfred and Matthew argued over which sport was better, hockey or baseball, Ivan chatted with Gilbert about work.

Eventually Arthur got tired of being excluded from the older kids, so he went back to the porch where the grownups were. He saw Natalia sitting on his father's lap and decided to join them. However, as soon as he attempted to crawl up onto Ivan's lap, something unexpected happened.

Natalia struck Arthur across the face. Hard.

The two year old fell back in surprise, landing flat on his bum. At first everyone was in shock, not knowing what to do. Then Arthur started to cry, his cheek already very red and swollen. For a three year old Natalia was very strong.

Alfred quickly scooped Arthur up from the floor, holding him to his chest. He looked furious. Nobody hurt his baby, not even his niece.

"Natalia, what have I told you about hitting?" Matthew scolded. "Go to your room young lady."

"No!" Natalia screeched.

"Natalia, go to your room or you don't get any cupcakes tonight for dessert. Listen to Vati, okay Princess?" Gilbert said.

"Your daughter's a psycho!" Alfred told Matthew angrily, trying to soothe the sobbing toddler in his arms.

"Alfred, she doesn't know any better! Stop acting so mean!" Matthew defended his daughter.

"Yeah man, she spent the first few years of her life watching people get killed! Cut my princess some slack!" Gilbert added.

"Alfred, they are right. She didn't mean it." Ivan said softly, laying a hand on his husband's back.

"Whatever, we're leaving." Alfred said shortly. "Get Francis."

Alfred knew he was acting immature, but he didn't care. Because of his niece, his baby boy's cheek was swelled up and red. He didn't even know a three year old girl could hit that hard! Matthew tried calling his name but Alfred stomped away and got into the van, buckling Arthur into his carseat. A moment later Ivan came with Francis.

"You're going to have to apologize to them you know," Ivan told him. "You should be more understanding. If Arthur hit someone then would you stay mad at him forever?"

"Of course not! He's my baby!" Alfred answered instantly.

"And Natalia is Matthew and Gilbert's baby. She's also our niece." Ivan reminded him.

"I know, I know," Alfred grumbled. He glanced in the rearview mirror, face instantly brightening when he saw that the two kids had fallen asleep. Sleeping children never failed to brighten his mood.

"Why don't we take it easy for the rest of the day? Maybe take the kids to a movie later or something?" Ivan suggested, taking one of Alfred's hands in his own and massaging it with his thumbs.

"Yeah," Alfred agreed with a smile, eyes still on the road. "That sounds good babe."


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry for not updating sooner! I have no good excuses, except for the fact that I've been a tad bit lazy with my fics lately. Hopefully you like it!**

It was a beautiful spring day out, which was exactly why Alfred had decided to take Arthur to the park. Unfortunately Francis was down with the stomach bug, so he was home with Ivan. The day was much too lovely to waste, and Alfred had the perfect new toy for his baby to play with.

"Okay Artie, hold the bat like this," Alfred instructed, positioning the small plastic blue bat in the two year old's hands. "Good. Now when I throw the ball, you hit it with the bat, okay dude?"

Yesterday, Alfred had gone out to get a mini baseball kit that was equipped with a light plastic bat and a couple of small balls, which were plastic as well. Perfectly child-friendly. Now that Arthur was getting better at walking and running, it was high time to get him into sports...like baseball.

"I'm telling you Alfred, you should have got a t-ball set. He's too little." Ivan had told Alfred warningly. "Even Francis hasn't mastered batting yet."

"That's because Francis doesn't like baseball," Alfred reminded him. It was true, Francis had never been that into sports. He was more artsy, much to Alfred's disappointment. Still, he and Ivan encouraged and supported whatever their children liked, so now Francis had his own little 'studio' full of paints and other artist stuff at home.

Alfred figured that it was because they hadn't got Francis young enough to influence him. But Arthur was two, still pretty much a baby. It was the perfect opportunity to get him into sports.

"Okay buddy, get ready!" Alfred said, and softly tossed the ball. Arthur wasn't remotely interested in the ball though. He'd started sucking and chewing on the end of the bat, leaving it covered in tot-slobber.

"Artie, you're not supposed to eat the bat!" Alfred called, quickly running over to correct him. He positioned himself behind Arthur, putting his hands over his child's and showing him how to swing it. "Now let's try it again. Practice makes perfect after all!"

Once again Alfred gently pitched to Arthur. He didn't eat the bat this time, but he didn't exactly do the right thing either.

"Ball!" He shrieked happily, reaching out to catch it. It flew past him though, and so the toddler chased after it, dropping his bat behind him. Alfred could only watch at Arthur bent down, picked up the ball, and cradled it like a baby.

"Well...maybe it is too early." The American mumbled to himself as other people at the park chuckled at his child's antics. Eventually he settled back and let Arthur kick the tiny ball around on the ground. Maybe he would become a soccer player in the future.

Eventually the kid had wore himself out and toddled back to Alfred, tugging on the adult's pant leg.

"What's up buddy?"

"Ice cweam?"

"Sure," Alfred agreed. "Ice cream sounds perfect."

Joe's Sprinkles ice cream store was luckily right across the street from the park. Alfred ordered a large double brownie fudge ice cream in a dish, to share with Arthur. They sat at a picnic table in the shade, enjoying the lovely weather.

"Open wide bud!" Alfred said, popping a generous spoonful of ice cream into the toddler's mouth. A bit of it dribbled down Arthur's chin and onto his shirt. Oh well, that was what stain remover was for. Alfred was about to eat a bite of it himself, but was stopped.

"I feed!" Arthur requested.

"Sure," Alfred agreed, passing the plastic spoon to Arthur. The tot scooped up a very large pile of the ice cream and shoved it none too gently into Alfred's awaiting open mouth. The American gagged, trying not to choke. Not all the ice cream fit, and fell down on his shorts.

"Artie! Now it looks like I pooped myself." Alfred whined light heartedly.

"I'm sowwy," Arthur said, smiling very cutely.

"That's okay," Alfred smiled. "Ice cream kiss!"

Both he and Arthur puckered their ice cream covered lips and pecked each other. Alfred then poked Arthur's tummy, causing him to shriek. As soon as Arthur opened his mouth, Alfred gave him another spoonful of ice cream.

Alfred really enjoyed his and Arthur's bonding times. The American got so emotional and happy that he'd gotten the privilege to be Arthur's daddy. He still hadn't got over the fact that Arthur had been neglected. Who on earth would neglect such an amazing baby? Idiots, that's who.

"Ready to go back home for a nap buddy?" Alfred asked softly when he saw Arthur rubbing at his eyes.

"Yeah," Arthur yawned tiredly, for once not arguing over the discussion of naps.

Alfred picked him up bucked him into his stroller, preparing for the walk back home so that they could join the rest of the family.

It was a good day.


	13. Chapter 13

**Since I've treated you all horribly by not updating in so long, I've decided to treat you all to something special. Arthur's around 3 in this one, and he needs to get his adenoids and tonsils out. Please enjoy!  
**

**Adenoidectomy: surgical removal of the adenoids; commonly performed along with tonsillectomy.**

"Hello, how is everybody today?" Doctor Elizaveta greeted as she walked into her examination room. Ivan was sitting in a chair, with a certain three (but almost four) year old on his lap.

"Not so good I'm afraid," Ivan replied, looking down at Arthur, who was squirming and tugging at his ear. "He woke up with it hurting this morning."

"Oh dear," Elizaveta said. "Well why don't we take care of that. Come on up to the examination table Arthur."

Ivan set the small child down, and then Elizaveta helped him hop up on the padded table. She immediately examined the inside of the infected ear and grimaced. "Oh honey, no wonder it's hurting. You certainly do have an ear infection."

"Can you make it go bye-bye?" Arthur asked, big green eyes glistening with tears.

"Of course I can sweetie. Now, why don't you go look in my prize box and get a toy for being so brave today." Elizaveta suggested. "And Ivan, let me fill out a prescription."

"It seems like this has been happening far too often," Ivan said with a grimace. "He just had one about a month ago."

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Elizaveta said as she scribbled down a prescription for Arthur's ear infection medicine. "Ear infections are common for children around this age, but not this frequently. In Arthur's case, most of it has to do with an inflamed Eustachian tube. I think it's because of his adenoids."

"Adenoids?" Ivan asked, confused.

"Yes, they're probably enlarged. I really think that with an adenoidectomy Arthur could show a lot of improvement." Elizaveta told him. "And we've already talked about getting him ear tubes. Those can be done along with the surgery."

"Adenoidectomy?" Ivan asked, once again puzzled. He wasn't really good with medical term talk. Sometimes he wished he'd gone to medical school and became a doctor rather than an accountant.

"The removal of the adenoids. Lot's of kids get the procedure done; it's very safe. I want you to give this number a call. Vash Zwingli is one of my friends; a doctor who specializes in specifically the ears, nose, and throat. He would be able to examine Arthur better, and also decide if the surgery is best."

"Oh," Ivan replied, all of it still sinking in. He glanced at Arthur, who was still searching through the prize box and had tuned them out, feeling his stomach drop. Images of their small little baby being still on a metal table surrounded by scalpels and knives filled his mind. But, if it would help Arthur...

"Alright, I'll talk to over with Alfred and give this doctor a call," Ivan finally decided.

"Excellent. Now I know Alfred has a tendency to panic about these types of things, but please assure him that it's safe. Vash can answer all your questions about it. I can even answer some, so Alfred can always have a chat with me." Elizaveta said, handing him the prescription.

"Thank you very much Dr. Elizaveta." Ivan told her, before turning towards his little one. "Arthur, have you picked out your toy? It's time to go."

"I got a dinosaur!" Arthur announced, showing a small plastic t-rex to his father. "Do I get a sticker too?"

"Of course," Ivan told him, taking Arthur's hand. There was a box at the receptionist's desk filled with all kinds of stickers, and it was always mandatory that a child be entitled to one after a visit to the doc's.

Today was one of the rare weekday's that Ivan had been given off. Since it was a Thursday Alfred had to work, which had left Ivan to take Arthur to the doctor's. Other than that it was quite a pleasant day though; with the three older children at school.

His mind was still reeling from Elizaveta's words. None of the kids had ever had surgery before, and he was hoping that it would have stayed that way. Besides, even if he was okay with it, Alfred was an entire different situation. He already knew what Alfred would say when he told him.

* * *

"No," Alfred said immediately after Ivan had said 'surgery' and 'Arthur' in the same sentence.

"Alfred, Dr. Elizaveta said it would help Arthur. She also said it would be very safe." Ivan told him gently. It was later that evening, and Alfred had only gotten home from work a few minutes ago. He was now getting dinner together with Ivan.

"And I say no. Our baby isn't going to be operated on. You know how I feel about stuff like that." Alfred told him firmly.

"We should at least visit this new doctor and see what he has to say. Besides, what could possibly go wrong? I even googled an adenoidectomy, and Elizaveta was right. It's very common; very safe."

"I'll tell you what could go wrong. He could bleed out. They might remove something that isn't supposed to be gone, like his liver. THE SCALPEL COULD SLIP!" Alfred listed off reasons, growing more intense with each one. "Ivan, you'd have to kill me before I allowed our baby boy to get a surgery when nothing life-threatening is wrong. No, even that wouldn't work, cause my ghost would prevent it!"

"I think you're overreacting, my sunflower." Ivan said gently, rubbing Alfred's tensed shoulders so that they were relaxed. "It would be over with so quickly. The actual surgery only takes fifteen minutes to a half hour. Then Arthur wouldn't suffer from so many ear infections and colds. That would also mean no more ear drops."

"N-no more ear drops?" Alfred asked, a hint of eagerness in his voice.

Eardrops meant H-E-L-L in their house. For a little guy who got so many ear infections, Arthur still was not okay with getting the medicine that made him feel better. It took a lot of effort to get them into the poor kid. There was always lots of kicking, screaming, crying, and struggling that came with it. Usually Ivan would have to restrain Arthur while Alfred inserted the ear drops, each parent close to tears themselves as they again and again apologized and tried to reassure him.

"So, what do you say? Do you want me to call Dr. Zwingli and make an appointment?"

"Well..." Alfred bit his lip, hesitating. "Alright, but I don't like it."

* * *

"Mhm, they're definitely enlarged," Dr. Vash Zwingli concluded, once he'd finished examining Arthur. "And by looking at his medical records and seeing how much the poor kid has suffered from ear infections, I'd highly suggest getting some ear tubes in, and his adenoids out. The tonsils out too actually."

It was a week since the appointment with Elizaveta, and now Ivan, Alfred, and Arthur were in Vash Zwingli's office. Arthur was admiring the fish tank across the room, while the adults talked.

Alfred made a small noise in the back of his throat, almost sounding like a whine. "Hold on a sec, tonsils too? Why? I thought it was just his adenoids."

"Those are the main problem yes, which will help the ear infections. However, getting his tonsils out will also help with the frequent colds as well. Overall I'd say it would be a much better way to go."

"And what exactly are the survival rates for this surgery?" Alfred inquired.

"What?" Vash asked, a bit taken aback. Then he realized that he was dealing with one of those overly panicked parents and sighed. "Sir, this is one of the second most common procedures performed on children. The risk of any complications is extremely low."

"How much will he be in pain?" Ivan asked.

"Well, his throat will probably hurt for a few days to a week, and a possible stiff neck may occur. I can give you a packet on all the necessary info. Read that first, and then call me if you have any further questions." Vash told them. "If you agree to this, that is. I highly suggest you to do it. My little sister is around Arthur's age and she had it done. Trust me, if I allowed my sister to have the procedure done, then you don't need to worry."

"You have our consent," Ivan said, placing his hand comfortably over Alfred's.

"Right then, I'll set a date as soon as possible."

* * *

The date was set. In three days from now, Arthur would be getting his adenoids out. Vash had given Alfred a packet on what to expect from the surgery, and how harmless it really would be. Now it was time to talk to Arthur and explain what would be happening to him.

"Arthur, you don't like getting ear infections right?" Ivan asked gently, that night once Arthur had been given his bath.

"Those are ouch," Arthur agreed, rubbing his ear in remembrance of his most recent one, which was luckily gone now.

"We have a way where the ear infections will go bye-bye from now on. All you would do is take a little nap, and then the doctor would take away what makes the ear infections come, and then you would be all better."

"No nap," Arthur scowled.

"But wouldn't one little nap be okay if it made the bad ouchie's in your ear go away?" Alfred cut in.

"Okay! If the ouchie's will go!" Arthur agreed excitedly.

"They will. On Thursday we will take you to the hospital and they will make it all better. Your throat will hurt a little after, but then you'll feel much better. You can also have all the ice cream you want afterwards."

"Chocolate ice cream?" Arthur asked, green eyes wide.

"You bet. All of the chocolate ice cream you want. And chocolate shakes, and smoothies, and popsicles." Alfred listed off.

"Yeah!" Arthur shouted enthusiastically. "I want chocolate!"

"You'll get some, I promise."

* * *

The night before the surgery, Arthur wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything after supper. Tomorrow in the morning they would drop Francis, Toris, and Feliks off at Matthew's house. Matthew and Gilbert had agreed to watch them for the day, so both Ivan and Alfred could be with Arthur.

Once morning came and the kids were dropped off, it was time to go to the hospital. The drive seemed to take far too long, despite it only being fifteen minutes away. Arthur was still in his pajamas, and in his arms were his two favorite stuffed animals, his bear and his bunny. They had also packed a bag filled with books and small toys to keep Arthur occupied before they put him to sleep as well.

"Daddy, I'm hungry. I want breakfast." Arthur complained from his car seat.

"You can have something to eat after your surgery buddy, I promise." Alfred replied, a little guilty. Thank god all of this would be over with soon. If everything went okay, that is.

Once at the hospital, they went into the outpatient/day surgery unit. They checked Arthur in at the front desk, and they led them towards a curtained area with a bed and tv. The walls were painted with rainbows and hot air balloons, looking quite friendly. The nurse was great, cheerfully joking with the adults and explaining to Arthur what would be happening as she placed a hospital bracelet on his small wrist.

"Have him put these on, and then in a few minutes the Anesthesiologist will be in to check his temp and heartbeat," The nurse said, handing Ivan a pair of children's hospital pajamas, with little airplane patterns on them. With that, she promptly left the room.

"Alright Arthur, let's get these on." Ivan said, unzippering the three year old's footie pajamas.

"What's wrong with the ones I got?" Arthur wondered.

"These ones are special ones. They look pretty comfy as well." Ivan answered as he helped his child into them.

"Hey look Artie, you get this Tv all to yourself! Wanna see what's on?" Alfred suddenly spoke, turning on the tv the was installed into the wall.

"Yeah!" Arthur agreed excitedly. Alfred clicked through the channels until he got to the Disney channel, which was playing 101 Dalmations. Ivan got Arthur settled into the hospital bed, and soon Arthur became very intent with the movie. About ten minutes or so later, a man came into the room, dressed in scrubs and a face mask. He introduced himself and then began to check Arthur's temperature, heart rate, and breathing.

"We'll be ready to begin in fifteen minutes," He told them, before leaving the curtained area. Alfred's face whitened a little, and he gripped Ivan's hand tightly. When the time finally did come to start, a few nurses came to take Arthur into a separate room so they could administer the anesthesia.

"Good luck buddy! We love you!" Alfred said, kissing his youngest child on the forehead.

"You can have a big bowl of ice cream when you're done." Ivan added. Finally Arthur seemed to realize just what was happening. He began to panic as the nurses started to wheel him away.

"Noo! I want my father and daddy!" He demanded, attempting to climb out of the bed.

"How about they walk with us to the door? Would that be okay sweetie?" A nurse compromised.

"I want them all 'a time!" Arthur cried. "I don't want sur'urg'y!"

"Little one, we will be nearby the whole time, I promise." Ivan soothed him. "It will be over with as quick as you can say peanut-butter-jelly!"

"Peanut butter jelly..." Arthur whimpered.

"Artie, how about while you're asleep, I'll go find you a BIG bowl of chocolate ice cream? Do you want that?" Alfred finally spoke, though on the inside it was quite hard not to grab Arthur and make an escape from the hospital while they still could.

"...How big?" Arthur finally asked.

"So big that you won't even be able to finish it," Alfred responded. "How about that buddy?"

"O-okay," Arthur sniffled.

Ivan and Alfred walked down the hall with the nurses and Arthur. Once they reached a separate room, Arthur was set up on the table in which he would be receiving the operation on. Ivan and Alfred watched as a doctor placed a mask on Arthur's face, telling him to count to three. Before he could even finish his eyes closed, and he was out.

With that, Alfred and Ivan had to wait in the waiting room for the rest of the operation. A nurse would be out in about forty five minutes or so to inform them when they could see Arthur, which was when he was beginning to up from the anesthesia.

"...What if something's gone wrong?" Alfred blurted out suddenly.

"Sunflower, it's barely been ten minutes. Tell you what, why don't we go down the the cafeteria now and see about getting him some ice cream?" Ivan suggested softly, taking Alfred's hand into his own. In reality the Russian was just as scared as Alfred was, if not more.

"Okay. I could go for another coffee too," Alfred agreed, but his eyes were darting to the operating room door in panic. Ivan sensed one of Alfred's freak outs coming on, and he quickly grabbed his lover's arm and led him from the room.

They spent around fifteen minutes in the cafeteria. They both got large coffees, and purchased a large bowl of chocolate ice cream to bring back to Arthur once he was done. Matthew called, which actually did some good in calming Alfred down.

"Look Alfred, a gift shop!" Ivan pointed out. "Why don't we get Arthur a new toy?"

"Good idea!" The American agreed enthusiastically, running into the store. A few minutes later he came out with several stuffed animals, a puzzle, and a toy boat. When they made it back to the waiting room, a nurse was there to greet them.

"Everything went well with your son. He's in the recovery room waking up, so you can come see him now!" She told them cheerfully.

"Thank god!" Alfred breathed, but then clutched the nurse's sleeve in panic. "Are you sure nothing went wrong? He still has all his important organs right? How much blood has he lost? Please don't tell me they took out the wrong thing!"

"Um, sir...could you please remove your grip from my arm? It's hurting.." The nurse requested, obviously creeped out. Ivan pried Alfred from her arm and smiled at her.

"Thank you very much. Could you please take us to Arthur now?" He asked.

* * *

Arthur was laying safe and sound in his hospital bed, looking around groggily and rubbing at his eyes. Another nurse had just taken out the iv that had been in his hand with no trouble. Alfred thrust the bowl of ice cream and bags of toys into Ivan's arms before scrambling over to his boy.

"Hi Artie buddy. How are you feeling baby?" He asked urgently but in a hushed tone, brushing back Arthur's soft blonde bangs.

"Mmmm," Arthur made a small noise in his throat, green eyes watering up as he winced.

"We have ice cream for you Arthur. Extra chocolate," Ivan said, holding a spoonful out. "It will make your throat not hurt as much."

Ivan spoon-fed Arthur the ice cream while Alfred showed him his new toys and told him how brave he was. Arthur was still tired, and also very docile. The doctor had warned that the after affects of anesthesia could make him very emotional, angry, or frustrated. Thankfully that did not happen.

The couple stayed with their youngest, who had dozed off after he'd finished half his ice cream, while nurses came in and out of the room. Once they had gone over the recovery treatment, Arthur's condition was deemed satisfactory and they were allowed to take him home.

Alfred roused him from his sleep in order to change him back to his regular pajamas. Arthur was a little grumpy about being woken back up, but he was quieted when Ivan gave him a Popsicle to keep his hurting throat at bay until they were home.

"Bye-bye sweetie. Feel better soon!" The nurses cooed as Alfred carried Arthur down the hospital halls. Ivan had gone ahead of them to drive the car up to the doors since it was raining out. The child waved back to the nurses and rested his head against his daddy's shoulder.

Alfred buckled Arthur into his booster seat and decided to sit in the backseat next to him rather than being in the front. He sighed in relief that all of this was over, and rested his hand on Arthur's head. Ivan reached back and held Alfred's hand while he drove.

"I'm very glad that you acted so calm," Ivan said, giving his hand a squeeze.

"That's just because I had you." Alfred smiled back. He caught Ivan's lustful gaze and snickered. "But we're not having sex tonight. I want to keel Arthur in our room until I know he's to in pain."

"I understand," Ivan nodded. "And I love you."

"I love you too."

The next few weeks would probably be full of tears and messy ice cream, but they would get through it.

Their family was one of the best, after all.

**a/n: I actually had this surgery done to me when I was around ten. Unfortunately the anesthesia made me angry when I woke up...let's not go there. I'm sure some of you have had this done as well, since it's quite common.**

**I'll try to get some more updates in, but summer is just so busy! I hope this will satisfy you guys for now! I promise to get some more updates soon! Don't worry, I'm just still going through my lazy stage!**

**Bye for now!  
**

**Leave a _REVIEW _if you have the time! *puppy eyes***


	14. Chapter 14

Alfred was reading parenting magazines. Before deciding to adopt four crazy little boys, he probably wouldn't get caught dead with one in public. That changed though, which was why he was sitting on a park bench reading one, just like several other mothers were as their children played.

Every so often the American would glance up and make sure his kids weren't getting into trouble. Francis was on a swing, chatting with another boy his age. Feliks was holding Toris' hand and dragging him around to various playground equipment. Arthur was wandering around the slide area, thumb in his mouth as he 'explored'.

Alfred smiled and went back to his reading. He was on a pretty interesting article explaining good activities for rainy days besides watching tv.

"Alfred, if you like that one then you should read this newest issue of FamilyFun!" One of the mothers beside him said, slipping the magazine into his lap. Alfred gave his famous sexy grin and thanked her. He had become rather popular with the other mothers around. For some reason they really liked that he was gay, and a parent on top of that.

It sort of bothered him that they treated him like a woman though. Personally he thought he was more manlier than Ivan. However, there was a perk to befriending all of these mothers. They gave him great tips on raising the kids!

Something that had always bothered Alfred in the past was the fact that the kids would never have a mother figure. Now that Francis was already six, he was beginning to question why they had two daddies instead of a daddy and a mommy.

"Alfred, don't you realize how much of a mother hen you are?" Ivan had told him once when Alfred had fretted about it to him.

"Wha- No, I am _not _a mother hen!" Alfred had argued. Unfortunately now that he thought about, the American decided that he kinda maybe had a little bit of mothering tendencies inside him. Only a bit though!

"Daddy?" Alfred's thoughts were broken by a tug on his pant leg.

"What's up Artie?" He asked, beaming down at his youngest.

"The monkeys hurt me..." Arthur notified him, lip trembling at he pointed to a small scrape on his knee.

"Aw, come here buddy," Alfred took him into his lap and pulled out his first aid kit. "Let me make it go bye bye. Now do you remember what I told you about the monkey bars?"

"Not 'ta go on them by myself," Arthur answered. "But I was 'sploring."

"Next time you want to explore something so high, come to daddy so I can help you. Got it bud?" Alfred instructed as he gently cleaned the scrape and but a neosporin covered bandaid on it. Last but not least he planted one big kiss on the knee, and another big kiss on the three year old's nose.

"Yes Daddy," Arthur replied sweetly, giving Alfred a kiss on the chin (His cheek was too hard to reach) before he was let down from his lap.

"Now go get your brothers and tell them it's time to go home for lunch, okay?"

"Okay!" Arthur replied as he pranced off in the direction of the other kids.

"Oh Alfred," Some of the mothers giggled. "You're so good with your children!"

"I do my best," He winked, standing up to gather his things. "Er...I can borrow that issue of FamilyFun, right?"

He was told that he could keep it, and so a few minutes later he'd managed to gather up his four little minions and get them buckled up safely in the van. Alfred decided that he and Ivan were doing just fine with parenting, and that no mother was needed in their family. Between him and Ivan, they had enough mother tendencies.

**a/n: Daw, Alfred's such a mother hen! :) Don't you agree?**


End file.
